When the tribe moved, the planks laid between canoes, became platforms on which to transport belongings and upon arrival at the new location these planks fit easily into pre-existing frames to make new dwellings in which to establish the home. Removable planks fixed to permanent frames formed large pre-fabricated Big Houses, with the planks of the sloping roofs easily removed to allow smoke to escape, or on pleasant days to allow light and air to enter. The various tribal groups lived along the beach in rows of large wooden houses, each with four to six families made up of direct descendants, together with a number of their relatives by marriage. Therefore, in order to keep his tribe strong, the Chief had to win the respect, loyalty and support of the people below him. Mobility within the kinship saw people move from house to house or even from village to village, and commoners with relatives within a household could claim residence within that household, or if they so chose, could go to live elsewhere. Members of every household accepted rank according to their relationship to the Chief, and the Chiefs ranked from highest to lowest with Maquinna as the highest ranking Chief in the highest ranking lineage group of his community.

The slaves being people captured during battles with other tribes, and normally being people owned only by a Chief. Nootkan villages consisted of three groups: chiefs, commoners and slaves.

History names Maquinna as the Nootkan Chief who met James Cook, but for generations the highest-ranking chief of the Mowachaht people bore that title, or name, “Maquinna”, a man with special rights and privileges, one holding the highest place in Mowachaht society. These studies prove that Nootkan peoples had certainly inhabited the area long before the arrival of the first Europeans.Ī Nootka community consisted of several distinct tribal groups, each one claiming direct descent from a known ancestor. In 1992 Yvonne Marshall, then of Simon Fraser University, enumerated 177 archaeological sites throughout Nootka Sound. Evidence indicated that indigenous people had continuously inhabited the site for the last 4,300 years. In 1966 John Dewhirst and Bill Folan of Park’s Canada conducted the archaeological Yuquot Project at Friendly Cove. They were great whale hunters, pursuing them far out to sea in whaling canoes. They had a rich existence and culture based on whaling, river fishing, hunting and foraging. Mowachaht / Muchalaht First Nation’s History The first residents of Nootka Sound were the Mowachaht and Muchalaht peoples.

Nootka history